Internship Experiences of Recent Geoscience Graduates

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Date updated: 2013-10-16
Data Brief 2013-013
Written and compiled by Carolyn E. Wilson for AGI, October 2013

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AGI’s National Geoscience Student Exit Survey measures the relevant experiences in school and the immediate career plans upon graduation of recent geoscience degree recipients. In spring 2013, AGI distributed this survey nationally and received 428 responses from 71 geoscience departments. This Currents examines the results from questions focused on the survey participants’ experiences with internships.

When asked if the students participated in an internship at some point during their postsecondary education, 40% of bachelor’s students, 63% of master’s students, and 35% of doctoral students said they had at least one internship experience. When these students were asked to rate the importance of their internship(s) for their academic and professional development, 80% of bachelor’s students, 88% of master’s students, and 67% of doctoral students rated their internships as "Very Important".

It appears this is particularly true for the Master’s students because 48% of Master’s students that are employed within the geosciences at graduation were interns at the company or organization that hired them.

Check out the Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates, 2013 report for more data from AGI's Geoscience Student Exit Survey. The report can be accessed at https://www.americangeosciences.org/workforce/reports.

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